Auctions combine bargains, visiting, humor and some emotion

FROHNA, Mo. -- You could hear the amplified voice of the auctioneer before you topped the hill on Highway Y -- aka, Ridge Road -- in East Perry County. There you saw the cars and pickups of more than 300 people -- people examining, commenting on, and, sometimes, bidding on a range of belongings, ranging from cast-iron Dutch ovens and embroidered pillow cases to antique books in German and English, canning jars and farm implements and tractors.

The estate auction began with the sale of household items and collectibles; at noon the sale of farm equipment -- pasture gates, seed cleaners, post-hole diggers, and more -- started in a second ring with Col. Chester Seyer of Oak Ridge calling, "Dollar bill, dollar bill, now one, gimme two!" as the brisk flow of the long-accumulated possessions of the late Lewis and Louise and Harry and Elda Petzoldt held the spectators' and bidders' interest.

Referring to fellow auctioneer L.R. Brandes, Seyer asked the crowd, "Did you ever notice how strong a wife L.R. has?"

Seyer answered himself, "She can just pick up a table. That's why he walks the line."

A neighbor, Vaughn Steffens, was waiting for the equipment sale, where he would watch for the chance to acquire some fencing to enhance his hay-growing operations, he said.

Erin Allen and her daughter, Clara, of Perryville, Missouri look over auction items Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014 at the Petzoldt estate sale near Frohna, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

"I'm a part-time farmer," Steffens said, gesturing to the northern horizon. "I live over the ridge.

"I might buy something. It depends on the price," Steffens said.

"The Petzoldts were very hard working, sunup to sundown. They did everything by hand and were good neighbors," he added.

Aside from the chance for bargains, Steffens said, people like auctions "because they're fun to listen to. The auctioneers have a sense of humor, and they try to work that in."

Linda Wibbenmeyer of Perryville bought jars, canning pots and pans and was keeping her eyes and ears open for the possibility of gaining more useful things for her home. Her husband Bernie had not bid on anything but was nonetheless playing an important role.

Earl Petzoldt, left, starts up a riding mower as auctioneer Charles Mangels looks on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014 at the Petzoldt estate sale near Frohna, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

"Bernie is my carrier," said Wibbenmeyer. "He takes the things to the car. I may get some more canning jars, and the quilts look interesting. I haven't checked them out yet."

Standing by to go into action when the second ring opened, Brandes said the social factor is another key.

"We're doing four auctions this month, and this one is a little bigger than most," he said. "The Petzoldts are a well-known family, and everybody around here knows everybody."

Pat Petzoldt Hecht of Altenburg, the couples' niece, said it was "a very hard auction for me because this is my family, and it has things from my grandparents.

"But it's one of those things -- where they're gone now -- and it's got to be done," she said.

Hecht said the Petzoldt brothers grew beans and corn and raised beef cattle on 300 acres and that they and their wives had all passed away, with Harry dying first in his mid-80s in December 2011. She estimated that a crowd of "at least 300 people" had responded to the sale notices.

Diane Petzoldt, wife of Lewis's and Louise's oldest son, Earl, said all the farm equipment and all but a few pieces of furniture were sold.

Noting that the overcast sky had sprinkled a few times, Petzoldt said, "The rain held off all day. We were lucky."

Seyer Auction Service had reported in its advertisements that 131 items of furniture and other household goods and collectibles, 44 pieces of farm equipment and four firearms would be offered in the sale.